The product of three Shockers and an artful idea, Fract/ons is an independent arts journal put together and printed in Wichita. Its debut edition, out in December 2009 (the cover of which is shown at left), and its second installment feature works by poets, fiction writers, artists, photographers and a Q&A piece on a selected artist.
Andrew Bales ’07, Andrew Stephens ’08 and Matthew Miller ’07 came up with the idea for the journal and share editorial duties. Bales is the writer of the group. He’s working toward a master’s degree in creative writing at WSU. Stephens and Miller are graphic designers, their working styles evident in the clean, simple, bold design and typography of the 7-by-7.5-inch print publication.
“With everything moving online, it seems print has re-developed a weight of its own,” the three editors explain as being part of their motivation to launch Fract/ons. “We utilize the Internet all the time, and it’s central in our pursuits to staying in communication with artists and spreading the arts with our other projects. However, we feel the printed journal is central to our mission of grounding the arts as something stable and appreciable.”
The three editors also feel that local art is too often overlooked; yet they embrace artful ideas, no matter their place of origin. “Our view,” they say, “is that creative work is happening everywhere, and the best thing we can do is help spread those ideas. This means both giving validity to the work that is unique to Wichita and bringing in art that is uncommon to our place. The ideal of creativity, community and shared work is something we work toward.”
Visit FractionsJournal.com for distribution locales. The website also offers an online version of the journal and info about other Fract/ons-sponsored projects. Happy reading!
